An African HIV-1 sequence from 1959 and implications for the origin of the epidemic.
There is considerable genetic diversity among viruses of different subtypes (designated A to J) in the major group of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), the form of HIV that is dominant in the global epidemic. If available, HIV-1 sequences pre-dating the recognition of AIDS could be crucial in defining the time of origin and the subsequent evolution of these viruses in humans. The oldest known case of HIV-1 infection was reported to be that of a sailor from Manchester who died of an AIDS-like illness in 1959; however, the authenticity of this case has not been confirmed. Genetic analysis of sequences from clinical materials obtained from 1971 to 1976 from members of a Norwegian family infected earlier than 1971 showed that they carried viruses of the HIV-1 outlier group, a variant form that is mainly restricted to West Africa. Here we report the amplification and characterization of viral sequences from a 1959 African plasma sample that was previously found to be HIV-1 seropositive. Multiple phylogenetic analyses not only authenticate this case as the oldest known HIV-1 infection, but also place its viral sequence near the ancestral node of subtypes B and D in the major group, indicating that these HIV-1 subtypes, and perhaps all major-group viruses, may have evolved from a single introduction into the African population not long before 1959.
Zhu
T
T
Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10016, USA.
Korber
B T
BT
Nahmias
A J
AJ
Hooper
E
E
Sharp
P M
PM
Ho
D D
DD
D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000266:history*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history* / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D016415:Sequence Alignment
D012367:RNA, Viral